File-index guide



April k8 1924.

J. O. DAVIS FILE INDEX GUIDE Filed Feb. 2s', 1923 Patented Apr. 8, 1924.

narran STATES JOHN 0. DAVIS, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA. f

FILEJNDEX GUIDE.

Application led February 26, 1923.

To all 107mm it may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOHN O. Davis, a citizen of the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in File-Index Guides; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to filing systems of the type generally designated as vertical filing systemsand in which the indexed contents of the file are separated into groups by so-called index guides in the form of plates usually made from durable presshoards that have suitable label holders exposed at their upper edges. These index guides are usually mounted to slide on a guide rod applied to the bottom of a drawer or like file container and it is frequently necessary to remove from the guide rod and to replace thereon certain of the index files.

My invention is directed to a highly efflcient, simple and durable guide rod clip applied to the lower edge of each index guide and having a spring grapple adapting the guide to be readily removed from or applied to the rod without requiring manipulation f of the rod.

In the arrangements heretofore provided, it has been necessary either to remove the rod axially or to rotate the same'to make possiblethe removal of an index guidetherefrom or the application of an index guide to said rod;

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the invention, like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a u fragmentary perspective showing a portion of an index cabinet and drawer with aille attachment embodying my invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view in vertical section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4: is an enlarged vertical section on the line i-4 of Fig. 3;.

Fig. 5 is a perspective showing the metallic clip as it appears when stamped out of Serial No. 621,355.

sheet metal `and before it has been folded when secured to the index guide; and

Fig. 6 is an elevation showing the spring grapple of the guide rod clip.

The numeral 7 indicates a file cabinet shown as equipped with a drawer 8 that contains the file elements and is formed in its bottom with a longitudinal slot 9 and isprovided with a guide rod 10 extended centrally of said slot. The rod 10 may be a permanently fixed rod, so far as my present invention is concerned, but it may also be a movable rod, although the movable feature thereof is not necessary nor even desirable. The said rod will be secured at its ends to the front and rear ends of the drawer by any suitable means.

The index guides 11, which, as already indicated, arethin dat plates or sheets, preferably of pressboard, are in length such that they will set down into the drawer. At the central portions of their lower edges, the index guides 11 are notched and provided with a metallic clip preferably made from a sheet metal plate 12 primarily stamped, as shown in Fig. 5, to form a shallow basin 13, a central slot 14, curved and straight lips 15 and 16 at the extremities'of said slot, and side notches 17 at the longitudinal center of the plate. Near its corners, the plate 12 is formed with rivet holes 18. The plate formed as shown in Fig. 5 is adapted tobe folded upon itself on a line intersecting the notches 17 and to be tightly pressed against the opposite sides of the index guide placed between thesame. This brings the opposite end rivet holes 18 in alignment so'that rivets 19, preferably tubular brass rivets, may be passed therethrough and upset, as best shown in Fig. 3, so as to securely apply the said guide rod clip to the respective index guide. When the clip is bent as shown in Figs. l, 2, 3 and 4, the slot lll forms a guide rod clearance notch 14a'L through which the guide rod 10 will'freely pass.

For detachably gripping the guide rod 10, the guide rod clip is provided with a spring grapple, preferablyvformed from a single piece of spring steel wire, bent to. form upwardly extended loops 2O and with opposing arms terminating at their lower` ends in hook-acting cam heads 21. Between the upper loops 20, the said spring grapple is formed with a transverse portion 22,

fro

which, when the spring grapple is applied in the clip between the upturned sides thereof and within the space afforded by the basin 18, will be heldin the hook-acting lip l5 by the overlying retaining lip 16.

Here it is important to note that the camacting heads or hook-like ends 2l of the spring grap-ple have a very considerable downward divergence but that their upper portions are approximately horizontal and have only slightly rounded extremities. This makes it a quite easy matter to place the clip over the guide rod by the application of but slightly downward pressure, but requires very considerably more force todetach the index guide from the rod but, obviously, very considerable force may be exerted in the upward pull on the index guide without doing any damage thereto, forthe purpose of overcoming the reluctance of the spring grapple to let go of the guide rod.

From the foregoing, it is evident that movements of the guide rod are not neces- 'sary nor desirable for the purpose oit applying or removing the index guides. Simple downward movements of the guides will effect their connection to the rod and direct upward pull thereon will edect their disconnection from the rod. Preferably, the, guide rod should be round and fixed, but it might be of other form and if, for any reason, it should be desirable, the guide rod might be movable. The important point is that movements of the guide rod are not necessary.

The above described attachment for index guides may be commercially made at a very small cost and, when applied to the index guides of file systems, greatly facilitates theproper adjustments and rearrangements of the said guides. In actual practice, this device has been found efficient for the purposes had in view.

Vhat I claim is: Y

1. An index guide in the form of a plate having at one'edge a spring-acting grapple adapted to be engaged with and disengaged :from a guide rod by edgewise movements of said index guide, the said spring grapple at its rod-engaging portions having greater downward than upward divergence so that it may be engaged with a guide rod under much less force than that required to disengage the same from the guide rod.

2. An index guide in the form of a plate having at one edge a spring-acting grapple adapted to be engaged with and disengaged from a guide rod by edgewise movements of said index guide, said grapple having spring arms terminating in hook-like cam heads having greater downward than upward divergence so that said grapple may be engaged with the guide rod under much less force than that required to disengage the same from the guide rod.

8. An index guide in the form of a plate having at one edge a metallic clip formed by a sheet metal plate bent upon itself and clamped onto said guideV and secured there to, said clip having a guide-rodembracing notch and a flat chambered interior, and a spring grapple formed from a piece of spring metal bent upon itself to forni a body clamped within lthe chamber of said clip and having spring arms terminating in cam-acting heads adapted to be presed into interlocking engagement with the guide rod and to be pulled out of Vengagement therewith. Y

4. The structure deiined in Claim 3 in which said cam-acting heads have greater downward than upward divergence whereby they may be engaged with the guide rod under much less force than that required to pul the same out of engagement with said ro Y 5. The structure defined in Claim 3 in which said spring grapple has a depending U-shaped upper portion and upwardly extended loops, and in which said clip has cooperating laterally bent ears that engage and hold the'transverse part of the upper U-shaped portion of said spring grapple.

In testimony whereof I aix my signa# ture.

JOHN O. DAVIS. 

